In 1987, Jim White (Kevin Costner) moved to McFarland in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, California, and what he found there shocked him. The city appeared to be a predominately Latino ghetto of sorts, where the children chose not to follow his instructions in class and caused him no end of grief. That was, until White noticed the exceptional running skills of the children in his class. With no cross-country team in the city and no one qualified to coach it, White assembled seven of the best runners and pushed them to take a chance and become great.
New Zealand born director Niki Caro ('Whale Rider') directs 'McFarland, USA', based on the true story of Jim White and his cross-country team. The film has been in production since 2004, with William Broyles, Jr. ('The Polar Express', 'Jarhead') writing the screenplay. Kevin Costner was made aware of the project in 2012, and signed on to star in July, 2013. The movie was filmed in Camarillo, California, with a release date originally set for 21st November, 2014, but this was later pushed back until 20th February, 2015, in the USA, and from March across the rest of the world.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Morgan Saylor, Maria Bello, Vincent Martella, Elsie Fisher, Daniel Moncada, Mariann Gavelo, Diana Maria Riva, Catherine Toribio, Connor Weil, Vanessa Martinez, Chelsea Rendon, Carlos Pratts, Ben Bray, Alex MacNicoll, Ben Bray